1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrolytic cells and particularly those adapted for the production of chlorine and caustic. More particularly, this invention relates to the cells commonly known in the art as diaphragm type cells. An improved method of keeping the corrosive electrolyte out of the anode connection to the cell base and electrically insulating the anodic cell base from the cathode assembly is provided.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Previous designs for accomplishing this purpose have almost universally employed a large flat section of natural or synthetic rubber or combination thereof as a covering for the cell base. These materials are electrically non-conducting, non-porous, and have sufficient resilience, at least when new, to serve as a gasket to seal the liquid anolyte out of the holes in the sheet through which the anode stems must pass in order to make electrical contact with the anodic cell base. The present design is satisfactory as long as the non-conductive sheet maintains its physical characteristics. However, since the materials are organic they are susceptible to deterioration due to the extremely adverse environmental conditions, e.g., heat and the corrosiveness of the anolyte. This deterioration causes a reduction in the resilience of the sheet allowing the anolyte to leak through onto the anodic cell base resulting in extreme corrosion.